DIY: Upcycled Pencil Holder

There are certain things in life that compel you to ask the question “where have you been all my life?”. I think it’s safe to say that, for me, washi tape is one of them. I may never have discovered this obsession fondness, if a friend hadn’t recently gifted me a stationery set containing one of these bad boys. Now I am sitting here, attempting to hatch an evil plan to take over all the washi tapes in the world. Or at least splurge on a small collection that I can call my own. Someone please hide my money. But more on my infatuation later. Lettuce get to the blog post on hand (randomly adding vegetables to sentences in attempt to convince my brain to eat healthier and no, it’s not working).

A pencil holder might seem kind of random but there were two reasons I needed wanted one:

To store the pretty stationery my friend got me (the same set that came with the washi tape)

To keep it on my new desk so it would actually look like work gets done there #keepinitreal (planning to show you guys the desk/home office very soon)

Upcycled Pencil Holder

Things You’ll Need

An old jar/pot/random container

Washi tape (you can also use more than one pattern/colour if you like)

Scissors

Basic motor skills

Step 1: Find your base

I had this old flower pot lying around. It was cracked, scratched and had basically seen some of the worst days a plant pot can see. But there was no reason it couldn’t live to see happier days, amiright? So I dusted it off, cleaned it with a wet cloth and it was ready for action.

You can literally use any old jar, empty tin or other container you’ve got lying around. If it’s got a sticker or something on it that can’t be taken off neatly, you could do a layer of paint before using washi tape, since the tape is usually translucent and won’t look as pretty if there are random ingredients peeking through.

Step 2: Go crazy with the washi tape

You can stick the tape on horizontally, vertically or diagonally. You can also alternate between different patterns and colours. I decided to leave a bit of space between each line of tape ’cause I liked the colour of the pot and wanted some of it to show (as long as the scratches and stuff weren’t obvious).

Actually ended up doing a pretty shoddy job with sticking on the tape but I’m writing that off as first time jitters (or something). It happens, okay? *gets into defensive mode for no good reason*

Step 3: Pencil holdin’ time

Stick your pencils/pens/other assorted stationery into your brand new (kind of) pencil holder and give yourself a pat on the back. What? It’s okay to derive satisfaction from something you put together yourself (even if a 3-year could do it).

If you liked this DIY, here are some other ones you might want to check out (insert puppy dog eyes).

Where to buy washi tape

Okay so, like I said, I’m currently on a quest to get some for myself and I’ve discovered a few places in Pakistan where I’m planning to order from. Please note that I haven’t yet ordered from these pages so I can’t speak to the quality of service or product.